Introduction
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Without electronics, modern life would be impossible. The microchip or integrated circuit (IC), though dwarfed by a fingernail, affects humanity on every scale, from toasters on our kitchen counters to the entire U.S. electrical power grid. This tiny device revolutionized the storage, processing, and transmission of data. In 1959, Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce discovered the remarkable concept behind the IC. Initial reactions were small, with only the military recognizing its usefulness, but within a few decades it was electronically connecting millions of people.
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Though the microchip presents significant challenges in the management of great amounts of information, its permeation into every aspect of life reformed fields like communication, business, medicine, and science for the better and revolutionized how humans interact.
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